Something is draining my battery
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 844
Likes: 32
From: Wilmington DE
C5 of Year Finalist (stock) 2019
St. Jude Donor '09
Something is draining my battery
HAPPY NEW YEAR, everyone!
I have an '03 vert with a NEW battery that is dead after 3 weeks. I replaced the battery a couple years ago and was having problems this summer if I let the car sit for a couple weeks...I'd have to jump start it. Had the battery fully charged on a charger and that lasted a couple days. Put in a new battery which worked fine for the first week or so. Since I do not have power at the storage facility, I decided to go start the car and let it run til warm, but it is completely dead! No clock, no lights, no nothing! I know I'll have to get the battery charged and test for something that could be drawing current, and pull fuses until I find the circuit, but has anyone else experienced this and if so, what did you find?
Thanks!
Drive safely out there!!
I have an '03 vert with a NEW battery that is dead after 3 weeks. I replaced the battery a couple years ago and was having problems this summer if I let the car sit for a couple weeks...I'd have to jump start it. Had the battery fully charged on a charger and that lasted a couple days. Put in a new battery which worked fine for the first week or so. Since I do not have power at the storage facility, I decided to go start the car and let it run til warm, but it is completely dead! No clock, no lights, no nothing! I know I'll have to get the battery charged and test for something that could be drawing current, and pull fuses until I find the circuit, but has anyone else experienced this and if so, what did you find?
Thanks!
Drive safely out there!!
Heel & Toe
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 16
Likes: 0
Well, you have to check with an automotive electrician..Many reasons could go behind that dead battery,
It could be:
1. Failure in the generator
2. You have replaced the crank pulley without considering the generator pulley
3. You forgot the lights on for sometime
4. Loose connection with battery poles
5. Etc...
Good luck!
It could be:
1. Failure in the generator
2. You have replaced the crank pulley without considering the generator pulley
3. You forgot the lights on for sometime
4. Loose connection with battery poles
5. Etc...
Good luck!
Tech Contributor
Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 32,910
Likes: 2,402
From: Anthony TX
CI 6,7,8,9,11 Vet
St. Jude Donor '08
You MUST conduct a battery current drain test to see if there is an excessive current draw happening when the car is in the SLEEP MODE. The magic number is 20 milliamps. Thats the spec. My car can sit 30+ days and start and run without any issues. My red top battery is 6 years old and is still kicking.
Look in my C5 Sticky at the TOP of the Tech Section for a detailed write up on current draw and how to deal with it.
BC
Look in my C5 Sticky at the TOP of the Tech Section for a detailed write up on current draw and how to deal with it.
BC
Pro
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 628
Likes: 4
From: Columbia SC
Battery drain
As Bill Curlee suggests, do the simple (if you have a Volt/Amp meter) drain test first, see if something (such as the seat motor switch or other common drain problem) is truly amiss. However, I've had experience with three low-mileage, garage-kept C5s that showed the drain to be within spec yet would still drain brand-new, fully-charged batteries significantly after the cars had sat for ten days/two weeks(they would go from 12.7 volts to 12.2 or so, which is a significant drain as I understand it). I never figured whether the cars had some intermittent problem(s) or what the situation was. I started keeping a battery tender/minder on mine and told the other two owners to do the same. Wish I could figure out what is happening.
